Ontario man arrested, charged in toddler's death

View: Criminal complaint Ontario -- Police have arrested an Ontario man on suspicion of beating his girlfriend's 2 1/2-year-old son to death.

Michael Lucero, 20, was booked into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga and formally charged with the child's death, police said.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office filed a criminal complaint alleging Lucero committed abuse of the toddler that resulted in the boy's death.

The child was brought to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana after he lost consciousness at his home Thursday shortly after midnight in the 1100 block of East Philadelphia Street.

Paramedics later took him to Loma Linda University Medical Center where he died.

Police said Lucero provided child care for the victim while his girlfriend was at work.

"This investigation is still ongoing," said police spokesman Cpl. Bill Russell. "Detectives are trying to determine if there was a propensity for violence and if anyone else knew this was occurring. "

Police have said the boy's mother hasn't been labeled a suspect at this time.

"It's still undetermined if she knew Lucero had a history of violent behavior with her son," Russell said.

The death occurred hours before the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office announced its "Justice for Children" program on Thursday.

"Sadly, in our office, we see far too many cases of child abuse and witness first-hand all the appalling stories associated with each crime," District Attorney Michael Ramos said. "We as a community need to take this time to come together and make a commitment to stand up for our most vulnerable victims not just during the month of April, but all year long. "

In 2012, according to the DA's Office, 1,550 criminal child abuse related cases were filed in San Bernardino County.

That same year, 5 children were murdered.

Lucero is being held without bail, according to jail records.

The San Bernardino County Coroner's Office hadn't released the autopsy report as of Monday afternoon.

Anyone with information is asked to call Ontario police at 909-986-6711 or Detective Justin Johnson at 909-395-2864.